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FIGHTER OF THE NIGHTMAN

"on the ice now for buffalo, looking for the pass, and gets it, afinogenov, couldnt get the shot away, now HE DOES, HE SCORES!!!! HOLY MACKEREL ROLE THE HIGH LIGHT FILM, MAXIM AFINOGENOV, WHAT A MOVE!!!!.... thats not fair... that was unbelievable"
-R.J. and Lorenz

YAY!

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Check out Fast Super Cars, Car Tuning, and WNY Sports

Twitter - @Ryan911T - @MotoExposure

the sabres are loaded on the back end. you gotta figure they plan on moving someone.

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So... that leaves Grags and, of course, Mr. Jhonas Enroth.

Hecht is gone. Pick up some picks. We all know Pommers is a virtual no show for the first half of the season. But the way this roster is set I don't see having him in our lineup as a significant problem. Plus when it comes playoff-push time he is clutch. I'd rather go into the playoffs with Pommers then without him.

Cool news, I really like Matt Ellis.

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"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hockey Night in Buffalo

Considering he was leveled into another dimension last season, yeah, I'd say he disappeared too.

Anyways, do we have a term yet for Seksie? Ellis's is two years, with 11/12 being two-way and 12/13 being one-way.

Edit: Never mind. It's 4 years, $11 million for Sekera. I'm not sure I'm thrilled about that.

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Girgensons for captain. Team Keep Nick DesLauriers forever.

@TJLuckman550

$2.75M per for 4 years for Sekera
$550k per for 2 years for Ellis. First year 2-way, second year 1-way.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

Wow, that's a lot for Sekera. I don't like it, especially considering our tight ca situation.

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I thought more about it. That's the same deal Monty got, and Sekera is better than him. I'd say it's a fair deal.

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Girgensons for captain. Team Keep Nick DesLauriers forever.

@TJLuckman550

I'm not sure about that. Sekera has more offensive upside but he has been very inconsistent. I'm not even sure that he'll make the top 6 and 2.75m for a 7th defenseman is too much.
I could be wrong though, if he plays up to his potential it's a good deal.

On a side note. Now the Sabres definitely have to trade guys away or dump them in the minors.

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Really not happy with the terms of Sekera's contract.... seems like a whole lot for a guy that hasn't really been too consistent with us.

Montador's contract was little high, and Sekera is not as consistent or dependable as Montador. Even if he was, he's slotted as a 6 or 7 man and nobody that deep on the chart should be making 2.75 mil per season.

Adding to what was said above, Buffalo will not only have to trade or dump players, they'll probably have to go with a 20 or 21 man roster instead of having 2-3 extra bodies on hand. Chicago had to do that last season, but that was AFTER blowing the budget for a Cup.

If Buffalo signs Gragnani for the minimum cap hit of 850k and Enroth for about 1.5 mil (a little high but who knows considering these other deals) the total cap hit would be just barely over 69 mil. Trade or dump Kotalik and Morrisonn and that makes just barely under 64 mil. So they could be under the cap but with only a 21 man roster, with two less reserves...12 forwards, 7 d-men and 2 goalies.

Yeah, but now that we have Rochester as the farm team again we can have a replacement here in a little over an hour, so I don't see it as that big of a deal if we don't have a full roster.

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"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." ~ Han Solo


We truly are not worthy of Miller!

Well maybe it won't hurt so bad, but we'd still be replacing starters with call-ups instead of other pros. Not the best option, and not good on a road trip.

Side note - 2.75 mil is Lydman money from two seasons ago. Lydman makes 3 mil right now. Sekera and Lydman in the same tax bracket...bwahahahaha?!?!?

My feeling is that two years ago, Sekera's contract looks really bad. With the cap going up, and seeing what some other (lesser) players are getting, I think this season it looks really good. Should the cap continue to go up, I think it will look really good.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

Yeah, the inflation of the cap is a lot like the inflation of the money supply. The dollars these players are earning aren't "worth" as much as they were several years ago. Scrubs and role players are approaching 2mil per. The salaries will keep inflating so long as the cap continues to rise. And if that's the case, these long term contracts will look better and better. If 5 years down the road third pairing defensemen are earning 2-3 million, Ehrhoff will be a steal. Just ponder that a moment.

In Sekera's case, it might be a bit high. It's less than an arbitration award would have been. If he doesn't pull it together, it's an easier contract to offload (front loaded money). And if he does progress and gain some consistency, it'll be a bargain. He's good when he's confident. Hopefully Ruff will be a little quicker to pull the "healthy scratch" card with him if he's floundering. 19 straight games with 0 points, Ruff sits him three, and he comes back with 10 points in the next 5 games. That's a crazy-ass run for a defenseman.

Ham

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Do you believe yet?

Yeah there's inflation, but the cap went up 4 mil and player contracts are going up higher and faster. Each team will have around 4-6 new contracts each summer, and if each of those deals are 500k-1 mil too high, that cap room is eaten up instantly. I think Sekera's contract is an example of OVER-inflation.

Also, inflation reflects increased prices as costs also increase. In the NHL, some contracts are going up in anticipation of increased revenue, not along with it.

Regardless of all that stuff though, I can't see how any team should be spending almost 3 mil per season on a 3rd pair d-man. On top of that his contract will prevent having depth on the active roster. That's a bigger issue imo than the money.

My only concern right now is the way Darcy is spending money. Don't get me wrong it's great that we our locking players up I just worried about the overpayment now. So you get rid of Kotalik and Morrisson and your cutting it way too close to the cap. Plus TJ Brennan and Schiestal are right on par to make the jump to the big club this season. This team has a ton of d-man and limited spots.